How Long Can You Go Without Dental Implants After Tooth Loss?
Losing a tooth (or several) can be a scary experience, especially if it’s through no fault of your own. But rest assured, our team of dentists are here to help patients in Lancaster with tooth loss. We’ll explain all about it in today’s blog post, including reasons for tooth loss, how to treat tooth loss and how long you can go without dental implants after tooth loss.
Why do people lose their teeth?
There are lots of reasons, but the most common are injury and poor oral care. When it comes to accidents and emergencies, the teeth and gums can be subjected to trauma, which could loosen a tooth or cause it to fall out or need extracting. With oral care, it’s usually a case of not brushing properly, often enough, or for long enough. This can lead to decay and cavities in the tooth which require its extraction, or gum recession, where one tooth or more can become loose or fall out.
What treatments are there for tooth loss?
Dentists have developed all kinds of treatments, ranging from small appliances like bridges, to sets of false teeth like dentures, to dental implants, surgically implanted false teeth. Each of these has its own pros and cons and a cost to bear in mind.
How long can you go without dental implants after tooth loss?
Whether you choose tooth implants, dentures, appliances or something else, it’s always important to be seen as soon as possible to ensure the underlying gum and jaw bone doesn’t begin to recede. These can make treatment much more difficult, or require additional treatments (such as bone grafts). It’s difficult to put an exact timescale on how long you can go without treatment, which is why we’d recommend seeing us as soon as possible.
What happens if you don’t replace a tooth?
As mentioned, you could experience gum recession, bone loss and even further tooth loss in the mouth. If it’s just one missing tooth, you might not think it poses too much of a problem – but that small gap could cause the remaining teeth to spread out and this puts you at greater risk of dental decay (as it’s easier for the teeth to trap food and bacteria).
What’s the best option for me?
We always tailor our recommendations to our patients. If you’re living in or around Lancaster, get in touch with our team and see how we could help you.
